Love at First Sight?
by xShadowintheDarkx
Summary: NozoEli gay college AU. Rated M for upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1

It was a simple day like any other; Nozomi and her friend Nico following their daily routine of visiting a small cafe after school ended to chat about their courses and get some work done before heading back to their separate dorm rooms. They had been best friends all throughout high school, able to understand the other's emotions just by the look on their face, and now they attend the same college.

They entered the café, hit by the familiar smell of a strong coffee. Nico spotted an empty booth for the two of them to sit at and claimed it before anyone else did.

"Getting the usual, Nicocchi?" Nozomi asked as she browsed through the parfait section on the menu.

"Of course! Nothing is better than a strawberry cake after a tough day full of classes."

"Nico, you never pay attention to any of the lectures." Nozomi stated, raising an eyebrow amusingly at Nico's statement. "As a matter of fact, didn't you fall asleep in history today?"

"An idol needs her beauty sleep, nico!" Nico smiled and did her signature hand gesture. Nozomi giggled at Nico's routine, standing up from her seat.

"I'll place our orders." Nozomi scooted her way out from the seat and walked to the counter, having to wait a couple minutes for the people in front of her to order.

"What can I get you and Nico-chan today, Nozomi-chan?"

"I'll take the berry parfait and Nico will have the usual, Honoka." Nozomi answered. After visiting the café so frequently, she befriended one of the workers who had their shift whenever they visited. She had also become familiar with some the regulars there.

"Alright! That'll be ¥750." Nozomi handed Honoka the money, who skillfully placed it into the cash register. "Your orders will be out shortly!" Nozomi smiled and walked back towards her table where Nico sat, looking out the big, front windows leading to the sidewalks. Nozomi sat down in her seat and began to take her laptop out of her bag.

"I'm guessing you'll need today's history notes?"

"We had notes?!" Nico practically yelled.

"Well, while you were getting your beauty sleep, I was focused on the class." Nozomi replied a bit teasingly.

"Nozomi, send me those notes."

"Hmm, should I or should I not?" Nozomi looked up and began to tap her lips in thought, overly exaggerating the process.

"Pleeeeease?" Nico begged. Not being able to keep the act up, Nozomi began to laugh. She signed into her account on her laptop, opened up the file where she took her notes, and copied it to an email for Nico before sending it. Nico let out a sigh of relief. "Next time you fall asleep in class, I might have to punish you." Nozomi said with an evil grin. Nico, being all too familiar with Nozomi's punishment, brought her arms up to protect herself.

"I promise it won't happen again, just please don't punish me!" Nozomi smirked and looked away from her screen, up at Nico. Nico gulped.

"It's all depends on you." Nozomi said mysteriously, bringing up her hands and wiggling her fingers. A soft laughter gained their attention once again.

"Nico-chan, Nozomi-chan, here are your orders!" A girl with long, taupe hair told them. She placed their foods in front of them.

"Thanks, Kotori." Nico grabbed her fork and took a bite of her cake. Kotori smiled before turning around and heading back into the kitchen. Nozomi followed Nico, pushing her laptop to the side and sliding her parfait closer to her. She picked up her spoon and took a bit of her parfait, making sure to get some of all of the layers.

The chime of the doorbell sounded through the chatter of the café's customers as someone entered.

"Woah, hottie alert, and she looks like your type too." Nico, knowing Nozomi since the first year of high school, knew almost everything about Nozomi, including her sexuality. Nico used her head to direction Nozomi to the girl without being too turned her head towards the direction Nico pointed off to, immediately noticing the girl's beautiful blonde hair. Nozomi was caught by the foreigner's charm and beauty.

"Hey, can you be anymore obvious? You've been staring straight at her for a couple minutes now." Nico whispered as she nudged Nozomi's arm. When she gained Nozomi's attention, she took another bite of her cake. Nozomi took another bite of her parfait as well before she turned back to face the blonde, who was now placing her order. She began to dig around in her bag, most likely to bring out some cash. The digging soon becoming a bit more frantic.

"Nozomi, I think it's your time to be her knight in shining armor! It looks like she forgot her wallet!" Nico whispered excitedly. She didn't have to tell Nozomi twice. Nozomi rose from her seat, making her way to the blonde, who appeared to now be apologizing to Honoka.

"How much was it?" Nozomi asked, leaning on the counter next to the blonde. The blonde turned, her eyes meeting Nozomi's for the first time. Nozomi felt her heart melt when the blonde's sapphire eyes met hers. She swore everything about this girl was just perfect.

"It's no big deal. I can just-" The girl began before she was cut off by Honoka.

"It was ¥310." Honoka answered. The girl glanced at Honoka then back at Nozomi. Honoka quickly did a thumbs up once the girl turned back towards Nozomi. Nozomi reached into her bag and pulled out the money needed to buy the girl's order.

"That's really not necessary, I can just come in another day." The girl continued. Nozomi, however, was certain to pay. She shook her head 'no' and handed Honoka the money, who placed it in the register.

"It's not like I'm spending a fortune here, plus, it's nice to help people out." Nozomi smiled. She could've sworn the girl blushed at this. "By the way, I'm Nozomi. Tojo Nozomi." Nozomi held out her hand

"Ayase Eli." She took Nozomi's hand and shook it. Honoka came back with a tall cup of coffee and placed it in front of Eli. "Here you go!" Eli looked at the cup, to Nozomi, then back to the cup before taking it.

"Um, if you come here tomorrow, I can pay you back."

"You don't need to pay me back. Just being able to talk to you is good enough for me." Nozomi said, smiling once again. Eli looked a bit skeptic at first before smiling back. That small smile made Nozomi's heart leap out of her chest but it disappeared quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry but I have to get going now. It was fun talking to you Tojo-san." Eli said, frowning slightly. Nozomi herself also felt a bit disappointed with the conversation ending so soon.

"Alright, it was nice to meet you too, Ayase-san." Nozomi waved Eli off as she walked out of the cafe. Nozomi let out a satisfied sigh before heading back to Nico.

"She is amazing." Nozomi said as she rested her head on top of her hands, elbows propping her up.

"Nozomi, from where I sat, you looked like an idiot. Please tell me you've at least gotten her number."

"Oops." Nozomi stuck her tongue out at Nico. "I guess I got too caught up in the moment that I forgot." Nico let out a long sigh.

"Honestly, Nozomi... What would happen if you never see her again?" Nico asked, to which Nozomi shook her head to.

"We will meet again, I'm sure of it. I feel like it was fate they brought us together here and it won't be the last."

* * *

The two left soon after, Nozomi completely forgetting about her parfait. They walked back to their dormitory on their university campus, Nozomi still in a good mood because of her encounter with Eli.

"Alright, Nozomi. See you tomorrow." Nico said as she unlocked her dorm room, located on the second floor of the dormitory.

"Make sure you get enough sleep to focus tomorrow or I'll have to punish you." Nozomi said mischievous, holding her hands up menacingly. Nico let out an 'eep' before quickly closing the door behind her. Nozomi giggled to herself a bit and continued to walk to her room, located on the third floor. Nozomi recalled the events from the day. She thought about the blonde as she wandered down the hall and up the stairs. Nozomi loved her gorgeous blue eyes and her silky golden hair that clearly stated she was a foreigner, or at least not fully Japanese.

As if her imagination was transferred to real life, there she was, Ayase Eli, standing at a dorm room door down the third floor hall. Nozomi couldn't tell if she was imagining things or if she was actually standing there. She decided to see for herself.

"Ayase-san?" Nozomi called out to her. Sure enough, the blonde turned to face Nozomi. The look on her face showed she was just surprised as Nozomi

"Tojo-san? What are you doing here?" Nozomi laughed at her question.

"Apparently, I'm doing the same as you; going to my dorm room." She answered, walking over to Eli. "Is this one your room?"

"It's what the paper says." Eli replied. She folded the paper and placed it into her back pocket. She inserted her key in the door and pushed it open.

"Well, that's cool. My room's two doors down that way." Nozomi pointed down the way she came from. "If you need help with anything, just knock!" Nozomi began to turn back to her room before Eli spoke up.

"Actually, would you like to come inside with me? I want to talk more seeing that we now have the time." Nozomi smiled and turned back around.

"Of course! I would love to talk to you some more." Eli flipped on the light switch before rolling her large suitcase, which Nozomi had just noticed, into her room. She then stepped out of the way, allowing Nozomi room to enter. Eli placed her suitcase against the wall, exploring the rooms like most people would. Nozomi noticed the room already had a resident, although they weren't present at the moment.

"You have a roommate?" Nozomi asked curiously.

"Yea. I met her briefly earlier as well. She's known about me since the beginning of the year though." Eli replied back, coming out of the room that was to be hers. It had already been a couple weeks into the school year.

"Oh? What brings you here so late?" Eli thought a moment before answering.

"I was visiting my family in Russia. We haven't seen each other in person for a while and I thought it would be a great time to visit."

"You're Russian? That's amazing!" Nozomi said in awe. Eli blushed at her comment.

"A-Ah, it's nothing really. I'm only a quarter Russian, the rest is Japanese."

"But you still have those beautiful blue eyes and the pretty blonde hair color." Nozomi continued. Eli, flustered with the compliment, could only mumble a small 'thank you.' Nozomi couldn't help but think how cute she looked when she was flustered.

"So, Elicchi, do you need help with anything?" Nozomi asked, wanting to hear the blonde's voice again. She hadn't realized she had let a nickname slip out of her mouth

"Elicchi?" Eli asked in confusion. Nozomi then realized what she had said.

"It's a nickname that just kind of slipped out... Sorry." Eli shook her head.

"It's alright, it just confused me at first. I like it, it has a nice ring to it."

"Then I'll call you 'Elicchi' from now on! You can just call me Nozomi then, too." Nozomi replied happily, seeing that Eli liked the nickname.

* * *

The two talked until Eli's roommate returned at 7 pm, meaning they had been together for a full hour. Nozomi had learned more about Eli, simple things such as her favorite food - which was chocolate - that they were the same age, 22, and that she was fluent in Russian. Nozomi also remembered Eli's roommate to be Hoshizora Rin, a hyperactive orange-haired girl, two years younger than them, but only a year behind them.

"Oh and Elicchi, we should exchange numbers!" Nozomi suggested cheerfully. Eli agreed and grabbed her phone from her purse, handing it to Nozomi so that she could type in her number. They swapped phones, typing in their own numbers, before returning their respected phones.

"See you tomorrow!" Eli saw Nozomi out and waved goodbye before shutting the door. Nozomi walked happily back to her room. As she entered she went right to her bed so that she could tell Nico about what she was just doing.

 **Nozomi: _Nico, you wouldn't believe what just happened._**

There was an almost immediate response.

 **Nico: _what?_**

 **Nozomi: _You remember that blonde girl from the café, right?_**

 **Nico: _how could i forget?_**

 **Nozomi: _Well, she's a student here and literally lives two rooms down from me._**

 **Nico: _NO WAY_**

 **Nozomi: _And she's just as amazing as she looks. She's a quarter Russian, loves chocolate, and she's the same age as me._**

 **Nozomi: _We were talking for like an hour and the time passed so quickly because how much I enjoyed talking to her..._**

 **Nozomi: _I think I'm falling in love._**

Nozomi reread the text. She felt like a teenager again, gossiping about her crush to a best friend.

 **Nico: _woah woah woah. slow down there._**

 **Nico: _what if shes straight?_**

 **Nico: _we all know its a bad idea to fall in love with someone straight_**

 **Nico: _don't fall too hard yet nozomi. you NEED to make sure shes interested in girls before you do_**

Nico had a point. Nozomi didn't like it, but she did.

 **Nozomi: _It may already be too late, but I'll try._**

 **Nico: _good luck with that. im gonna shower and sleep now. i dont want to be washi washi-ed tomorrow_**

 **Nozomi: _Smart choice. Good night._**

Nozomi tossed her phone onto her bed. She undid her low twintails to get ready for her shower as well. She also picked out a set of pajamas and a towel for after the shower.

After Nozomi showered, she dried and brushed out her long, purple hair, followed by brushing her teeth. Once she was done, she relaxed on her bed. She grabbed her phone from beside her and looked at her contact list. She stared at her newest contact; Ayase Eli. Deciding to put the number to use, she sent Eli her first, and final, text of the night.

 **Nozomi: _Good night, Elicchi._**

Nozomi stared at the sent text, waiting for a reply of some kind. Soon enough, the small text bubble to show the other was texting popped up on the screen.

 **Eli: _Good night and sleep well, Nozomi._**

Nozomi smiled at the text. She turned her phone off, connecting it to the charger and setting it on the bedside cabinet beside her. She got up, turned off the lights, and laid back down on her bed. Nozomi's heart picked up its pace as she thought about what she could do with Eli the next day. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer into her blankets, already ready to start the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Nozomi woke up to the sound of her phone's alarm blaring on the dresser besides her. She reached over to turn her alarm off, the phone glowing brightly in her room only lit by the early morning sky flooding in through the shutters. She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way to the light switch. She flipped the switch on then walked to her closet to pick out her outfit for the day.

 _Alright! Today's goal: Find out if Elicchi's gay._ Nozomi thought to herself. She began to look through her closet to find a certain outfit. _This should be good for the first 'test.'_

Nozomi replaced her pajamas with the clothes she had just picked out, a loose white crop top and a pair of denim booty shorts. Afterwards, she brushed and put up her hair up in its usual fashion. Nozomi looked at herself in the mirror. She had attempted to pull off a sexy, casual look and succeeded. In the first place, she was already good-looking to most people, having a desirable body figure and pretty face. Her choice of clothing seemed to multiply her attractiveness.

 _If she is gay, it'll be simple to tell with this outfit._ Nozomi made her way to where her phone was and went to Eli's number.

 **Nozomi: _Good morning, Elicchi! Would you like to come to breakfast with my friend and I?_**

Nozomi sent the text and waited. She looked at the time. There was about 30 minutes until 8, which is when the dining hall opens. She looked back down at her text to see the ellipsis chat bubble, showing Eli was texting back.

 **Eli: _That would be nice. Give me a minute to get ready and I'll be at your door._**

 **Eli: _Two doors down to the right of my room, correct?_**

 **Nozomi: _Yep! I'll be waiting!_**

Nozomi turned the screen of her phone off. She looked back into her mirror, wanting to make sure she looked the best as possible for Eli. She began to spin around, looking to see if everything was straightened out and nice. Seeing that she looked fine, she came back to her phone and sent a quick text to Nico, telling her she'll be down soon, then she placed her phone in her bag. When she heard the faint knocking at her dorm room's door, she left her room, grabbed her school bag, and answered the door.

"Hi Elicchi!" Nozomi answered, smiling at the girl in front of her.

"Good morning, Nozomi. Are you ready to go?" Eli asked from the opposite side of the door.

 _Hmm... Seemingly casual first response after seeing me... I won't give up just yet, though!_

"Of course. Let's go pick up Nico then!"

Nozomi stepped outside of her dorm room, locking the door behind her. She went on to walk ahead Eli, making sure to put a little more sway into each step. As she stepped down the stairs, she glanced back at Eli. Her eyes were still planted forward. Nozomi looked back in front of her and continued to walk down the stairs.

Now on Nico's floor, Nozomi began to search for Nico's room number, Eli still following behind. Once she found Nico's door, she began to knock. The door flew open instantly.

"What the hell took you so...long..." Nico's voice lowered as she noticed the blonde standing behind Nozomi.

"Good morning to you too, Nico." Nozomi said jokingly. "Now, let's get the introductions out of the way. Eli, meet Nico. Nico, meet Eli." Eli held her hand out to Nico, who grabbed and shook it

"It's nice to meet you, Nico-san."

"Drop the formality. Since you're friends with Nozomi it's not needed, Eli."

Nozomi smiled at the two. "Alright, let's go get breakfast!"

* * *

The dining hall was roaring with the conversation of other students. Though Nozomi and Nico were used to the populated room, Eli wasn't. The trio grabbed a tray each and began to search for their meal.

"There's quite a number of people here." Eli said to Nozomi, following behind her in the buffet line.

"Mm. After a while you'll get used to it. Besides, you have Nico and I to sit by, so you don't have to worry." Nozomi responded, taking an apple from the food tray. Eli did the same.

When they sat down to eat their breakfast, their trays consisted of miso soup, rice, fruits, and yogurt. They sat down at a bench-like table, the seats being connected and not individual. Of course, Nozomi made sure Eli was sat by her with Nico sitting parallel to them. Nico picked up her chopsticks and went straight for her food.

"So, Eli, I know you've only been here for a day, but how are you liking it so far?" Nico asked as she finished the first bite of her rice. Eli picked up her chopsticks and miso bowl and began to swirl the soup together.

"Based on what I've seen so far, I find it a really nice place. The food is nice for its low price and the people are welcoming as well." She ended her sentence by placing a small cube of the soup's tofu into her mouth.

"Well, who wouldn't be welcoming to the new foreign blonde beauty." Nozomi half-joked. This earned a shy chuckle from Eli.

"I wouldn't say that..." She commented bashfully.

"Well, it's true!" Nozomi giggled back. Nico just stared at the two, slightly sick from their act but, at the same time, amazed with Nozomi's abilities.

Unfortunately for Nico, this continued throughout breakfast.

Once the dishes were empty and their stomachs were full, the trio left their trays in the designated area and headed out.

"When's your first class, Elicchi?" Nozomi asked out of curiosity. Eli took her schedule out of her pocket.

"I have my first class at 9." She answered, showing Nozomi her schedule.

"We'll walk you there then since it's your first day."

"You mean _you'll_ walk her there. I'm heading to my class now to finish up anything I didn't yesterday." Nico corrected. She turned around and walked away, waving her hand once. "See you two later."

"Is it just me or does she seem annoyed?" Eli asked Nozomi.

"That's how she always is. What she lacks in height, she makes up for in anger." Nozomi explained. Eli began to laugh at the description. Nozomi could've sworn only angels were able to make such a beautiful sound.

"Okay, let's go Giggles-san, you've got a class to get to."

* * *

Nozomi's classes were as uneventful as they could ever be. They seemed to go slower because all Nozomi could think about was Eli. Finally, she was halfway through her day. She walked out of the building, greeted by the bright, warm sun. She took her phone out of her bag so that she could meet up with Nico and Eli. She was surprised to see Nico already sent her a text.

 **Nico: _i wont be eating with you guys today because something came up. sorry._**

 **Nozomi: _Okay, Nicocchi. See you later then._**

Nozomi closed out of her chat with Nico and opened her chat with Eli.

 **Nozomi: _Are you out yet?_**

Nozomi waited for a response, and when she didn't get one, she assumed she was still in class. This left her all alone for over an hour. Nozomi, seeing that the sun felt nice, decided to lay against the wall on the grass and relax. She shut her eyes, taking in the feeling of the sun.

When Nozomi opened her eyes again, Eli was by her side.

"Oh, are you awake?" Nozomi yawned and stretched her arms up in the air.

"Was I asleep? How long was I out?" Nozomi asked Eli, still stretching her arms. She looked over to Eli who quickly turned away, looking forward once again.

"W-Well, when I checked the text, it was sent about twenty-five minutes before and I've been here for a bit, so I'd guess maybe forty or so minutes?" Eli answered.

 _This is a good sign. There's a great chance she was just checking me out there._

"But what were you doing, falling asleep in such a public area? Something could've happened to you, especially with that clothing." Nozomi looked at Eli's face. The blush on her face was obvious.

 _Bingo. It's go time._

"You were here to make sure nothing happened, so thank you." With that, Nozomi placed her head on Eli's shoulder.

"Geez, Nozomi... What about the time when I couldn't watch you?"

"Nothing happened so it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you stayed by my side all that time afterwards just to make sure I was safe."

The two stayed like that in silence. It was beginning to get a bit awkward until Eli spoke up.

"Nozomi, I-I have a question." Nozomi sat back up straight and looked at Eli. She looked troubled, which worried her slightly.

"What's wrong? You can ask anything." Nozomi comforted, even though she was worried herself.

"These girls in one of my classes said something, but I want to hear it from you..."

 _Oh no._

Eli turned and looked her in the eyes. "Are you a lesbian?"

Nozomi stared back at Eli before breaking eye contact and looking back forward.

"Yup. I've never once been sexually attracted to a man and I've only been in relationships with women." Nozomi started to play with the grass besides her. "I'm sorry you had to find out by someone else." Nozomi looked back up to Eli.

"A-Alright... I think I need some time to think about this..." Eli stood up from her spot. "Sorry, Nozomi."

Nozomi smiled. It was a mixture between sympathy and pain. "I understand."

Eli walked away without another word. Nozomi sighed. Before she knew it, the blonde was gone.

 _Dammit. That may be it._

Nozomi was upset. It felt like a bad heartbreak even though she had only known her for _literally_ less than a day. Instead of focusing on her throbbing heart, Nozomi decided to focus on the growling in her stomach. She made her way through the college's halls until she reached the student store. She was lucky enough to get ahold of a red bean bun, being so late into lunch already. She paid for her food and began to walk in the general direction of her next class, art history with Nico, while munching on her food.

When she entered the art history room, there were already some students in there, mainly sitting down using their laptops. Nozomi sat down close to the middle rows in the farthest chair. She took her phone out of her bag, planning to waste time on a simple mobile game. The first things she saw were the messages sent by Eli earlier in the lunch period when she was asleep. Nozomi unlocked her phone and closed out of the messenger app, opening in its place a tile-matching game. Nozomi rested her head on one propped arm and played the game with the other.

Nozomi sat there, playing her game, trying to forget about everything that happened the past day.

 _Oh, look. New high score._

Nozomi looked at the time. She had actually managed to waste twenty minutes of her life on the game. As she began another round, she heard the rustling of someone sitting by her.

"Hey, Nozomi."

"Oh, hi Nico. You're here early." Nozomi said, still matching her tiles.

"Well, I've been trying to find you for the past fifteen minutes. I only found you because someone saw you walk this way."

"Couldn't you have just text me?"

"I did. Check." Nico's tone hinted at annoyance. Nozomi followed what she was told and checked her texts, forgetting about her game. Nico did send her a text. Multiple texts actually.

"Hm, I must've been too into my game that I didn't notice them." Nozomi stuck out her tongue.

"Anyways, where's Eli? I would've thought that you were hanging out with her." Nico questioned. Nozomi felt her heart drop once again. Nico must have noticed something was wrong because her expression softened. "You can tell me what happened if you want."

Nozomi let out an airless laugh. "Nothing happened. She just found out I was gay and then walked away."

"If you want, I'll kick her ass. I won't let anyone, no matter how tall or gorgeous they may be, leave my friends like that." Nico joked in a dry attempt to cheer Nozomi up. Luckily for her, it worked a bit.

"Thanks, Nicocchi. It's not really a big deal though, so don't worry." Nozomi replied, cracking a small smile. At this point, students slowly started to fill up the lecture hall. Before they knew it, the class had started. Nozomi managed to space out most of the lecture, though she did get the notes.

"That's all for today. You're dismissed." The professor stated as he tidied up the papers on his desk.

"Wanna go to the café today?" Nico asked from beside her as she put her things away. Nozomi placed her laptop in her bag and stood up.

"I think I'll pass. I feel like I should take my afternoon easy, so that I can rejuvenate my spiritual power for work later today." Nozomi responded, walking with Nico out of the room.

"Fine... Talk to you later then. Bye!" Nico and Nozomi walked in opposite directions to get to their final class of the day. That class for Nozomi was a math class, wanting a more well-rounded degree. Her math class was five minutes away from her history class if she didn't waste any time. She left the building she was currently in to walk back into the building that had her math class. She walked down the hall, once again looking for her class. She turned into the open doorway, walking into the room. A few people were already settled in and Nozomi chose to sit in the chair closest to the doorway. She opened her bag, taking out her laptop and looking at the notes she took the previous day. People were talking in the hallway, but Nozomi wasn't bothered by it. Or at least she wasn't bothered by it until they got louder. Nozomi stared at the doorway. Two people passed by, but they weren't the ones talking so loudly. The noisy people were almost passing the room, though they were still a little bit behind by the volume of their voices. Nozomi's eyes widened as she saw a familiar face. Right there, entering the room, was no other than Ayase Eli. Being in plain view of the door, Eli noticed Nozomi as well. The two made eye contact, but Nozomi couldn't handle it. She quickly looked back down at her laptop screen, her heart pounding hard against her chest.

 _Why? This must be a cruel joke made by Fate._

Nozomi glanced back up to Eli. She walked past Nozomi, taking a seat on the opposite side of the classroom in the front row. A group of people followed her, filling up the seats around her. They began to talk again, messing around with each other, but Eli seemed to ignore them. She took out her laptop and opened up a notepad. Nozomi quickly averted her eyes back to her screen when she thought Eli began to look towards her.

 _Elicchi really is something to have that big of a following already. I guess she fits in easily..._

When the class started, Nozomi couldn't focus. While she looked like she was paying attention to the professor, she was actually just stealing glances at Eli. It was in the middle of the lecture when Nozomi knew it was getting out of hand. She put her laptop away and placed it in her bag, slinging it on her shoulder and walking out the door. She wasn't just about to ditch the remainder of the lecture, but she did need to get her mind back on track. Nozomi strode down the hall and into the girl's bathroom. She walked to the sink and leaned her bag against the wall underneath. She cupped her hands under the automatic water faucet, collecting the water and bending over to splash it in her face. She repeated the process a couple times before grabbing a paper tower to dry her face. As she patted her face, she heard someone's footsteps as they walked on the bathroom's tiled floor. Nozomi looked up from the paper towel only to have her head guided up by a slender hand and lips forcefully pressed down against hers. Nozomi's eyes widened, surprised by the kiss but even more surprised by the one kissing her. Her heart sped as she saw Eli's blonde hair. Eli began to walk forwards, still continuing the kiss, making Nozomi walk backwards until she was pressed against the wall. Nozomi felt like she was dreaming as she finally closed her eyes and began to reciprocate the kiss. She wrapped her arms around Eli's neck and Eli wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling Nozomi closer. When Eli finally stopped the kiss, they both were out of breath. Eli rested her forehead against Nozomi's and slowly opened her eyes.

"That's something I wouldn't have been able to do in Russia." Eli got out between breaths. Nozomi smiled.

"Japan isn't Russia so you can do that whenever you want." She replied, her voice husky from the kiss. Eli hugged Nozomi and buried her face in her neck.

"Nozomi, I'm sorry about earlier, I just didn't know how to react. Russia is a place where people get killed because of this and I was scared with how I felt about you. I walked away because I was scared, but I really just wanted to stay by your side." Nozomi felt a droplet of water hit her neck as Eli's eyes began to water. She stood Eli back up, cupping Eli's face and using her thumbs to wipe away the tears that formed. She planted a soft kiss on Eli's lips.

"I was scared too. I thought I'd lost you forever. But right now, we both have no reason to be afraid of anything because we have each other. Elicchi, I love you."

"I love you too, Nozomi."


End file.
